Friday Roundup: Minnesota’s Tom Windle Throws No-Hitter

Lefthander Tom Windle threw the first nine-inning no-hitter in Minnesota history in a 3-0 win against Western Illinois on Friday. Windle retired the first 11 Leathernecks in order before issuing his only walk in the fourth inning. WIU had only one other baserunner in the game, on an error in the sixth inning. Windle struck out eight and needed just 94 pitches to go the distance. Minnesota’s baseball history includes two seven-inning no-hitters, in 1970 and 1993. Windle’s no-hitter was also coach John Anderson’s 1,100th career win. For more on Windle, BA subscribers can read our recent profile of him here.

On to the rest of Friday’s action:

Top 25 Showdowns

• (2) Vanderbilt at (15) Oregon: Kevin Ziomek (9 IP, 2 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 13 K) threw his second consecutive complete game, leading the Commodores to a 4-1 win. Ziomek retired 16 of 17 to open the game, with the only blemish coming on Ryon Healy’s solo home run leading off the fourth. Ziomek has allowed just one run on three hits with 28 strikeouts over his last two starts. Tony Kemp and Jack Lupo had two RBIs apiece for the Commodores, who handed Jake Reed (7 IP, 6 H, 3 ER, 1 BB, 7 K) his third loss. Vandy has won 12 straight and has yielded three runs or fewer in 13 of its 14 games.

• (14) Georgia Tech at (24) Virginia Tech: Daniel Palka and Zane Evans each homered and drove in four behind Buck Farmer (6 IP, 2 H, 1 ER, 3 BB, 7 K), leading the Yellow Jackets to a 11-1 shellacking of the Hokies. Palka hit his first career grand slam in the sixth to break open a 3-0 game and chase Eddie Campbell (4 IP, 5 H, 7 ER, 5 BB, 3 K). Farmer carried a no-hitter into the sixth inning before allowing his first earned run of the season, snapping a marathon streak of 26.2 innings without allowing one.

• (22) Notre Dame at (12) UCLA: Kevin Kramer singled to lead off the 10th, and Eric Filia singled him home with two outs to propel the Bruins to a 2-1 win. Adam Plutko (7 IP, 4 H, 1 ER, 2 BB, 4 K) and Sean Fitzgerald (6 IP, 4 H, 1 ER, 4 BB, 5 K) went toe-to-toe in a fine pitchers’ duel, but UCLA won the battle of the bullpens, as Zack Weiss and David Berg combined for three innings of two-hit relief, striking out six without issuing a walk. Nick McCarty (3.2 IP, 2 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 4 K) pitched well in relief for Notre Dame before allowing the winning run in the 10th.

• Texas A&M at (10) Cal State Fullerton: Kyle Martin (6.2 IP, 6 H, 1 ER, 2 BB, 4 K) picked up his first win of the year in Texas A&M’s 6-1 upset. The Aggies handed Thomas Eshelman (8 IP, 6 H, 4 R, 3 ER, 0 BB, 6 K) his first loss of the season, breaking open a 2-1 game with four runs in the ninth. The Titans have lost three of their last four since starting the season 10-0. Blake Allemand (3-for-4, 2 R, RBI, 2B) continued to emerge from his early-season slump, leading the A&M offense in the No. 3 hole. Allemand’s average climbed to .200.

• Nevada-Las Vegas at (13) Stanford: Mark Appel (7 IP, 4 H, 3 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 15 K) set a career high for strikeouts and posted his third straight double-digit strikeout game, but he still fell to 2-2 on the season as UNLV pulled off the 3-2 upset. Stanford committed three errors in the second inning, leading to a pair of unearned runs even though Appel struck out three in the frame. Erick Fedde (6 IP, 6 H, 2 ER) and Brady Zuniga (3 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 4 K) kept the Stanford offense in check, helping the Rebels improve to 11-3 on the year. UNLV has won seven straight.

• (17) Oklahoma at Southern California: The Trojans knocked around Dillon Overton (8 IP, 13 H, 5 R, 4 ER, 2 BB, 4 K) in a 5-3 upset that I took in at rainy Dedeaux Field. Adam Landecker (3-for-4, 4 RBI) returned from a four-game absence because of a strained hamstring and led the USC offense in support of Bobby Wheatley (6.1 IP, 7 H, 3 R, 1 ER). Nigel Nootbaar, throwing 90-93 mph gas and mixing in a good 81-83 slider, worked two scoreless innings for the save. Overton worked at 88-90 early, then settled in at 86-88 in the middle to late innings, showing good feel for his plus 78-80 changeup and flashing a solid mid-70s curveball. But his fastball location was not sharp, and the Trojans capitalized, though the two teams combined to leave 18 men on base.

• (21) UC Irvine at Brigham Young: The Cougars clinched the series with a 3-1 win behind Adam Miller (6 IP, 6 H, 1 ER). BYU did all of its damage in a three-run sixth against Matt Whitehouse (8 IP, 7 H, 3 ER, 0 BB, 6 K), who took his first loss of the year.

Other Top 25 Results

• (1) North Carolina at Wake Forest: Kent Emanuel (9 IP, 5 H, 0 R, 3 BB, 7 K) threw his second complete-game shutout of the season in UNC’s 4-0 win. Skye Bolt hit his first career homer for the Tar Heels, who scratched out four runs despite mustering just four hits against Austin Stadler and the Wake bullpen.

• Central Arkansas at (3) Mississippi State: Jacob Lindgren exited after taking a line drive off the side of his left knee in the first inning, but Myles Gentry (4.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 K) and the MSU bullpen held UCA to four hits in a 4-2 win. Lindgren was spotted on crutches in the dugout later in the game, but coach John Cohen sounded optimistic about his status, according to reports. Hunter Renfroe (2-for-3, 3B, RBI) led the MSU offense.

• Rider at (6) South Carolina: No Jordan Montgomery? No problem for South Carolina, as Evan Beal (6 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 6 K) and three relievers combined on a one-hit shutout in the Gamecocks’ 2-0 win.

• San Diego State at (16) Arkansas: Joe Serrano broke a 3-3 tie with a walk-off solo homer with two outs in the ninth, propelling Arkansas to a 4-3 win. Ryne Stanek (4.1 IP, 5 H, 3 ER, 5 BB, 5 K) was not sharp for the Hogs, but Trent Daniel and Jalen Beeks combined to work 4.2 innings of two-hit, shutout relief.

• Boston College at (18) Florida State: Brandon Leibrandt (8 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 4 BB, 3 K) surrendered BC’s only hit of the game with one out in the eighth, as the Seminoles stayed unbeaten with a 4-0 win. FSU scored runs in each of the first three innings, and Leibrandt made the early lead stand up.

(19) Rice at Florida International: Austin Kubitza (6.1 IP, 7 H, 2 ER, 2 BB, 11 K) used strikeouts to escape trouble early and posted his third double-digit strikeout game in four outings, leading the Owls to a 7-2 win. John Simms (2.2 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 4 K) returned to the Rice bullpen and picked up his first save of the season. Ford Stainback and Michael Aquino combined to drive in five runs for Rice.

• Columbia at (20) Arizona: Zach Gibbons tripled to lead off the ninth and scored on Johnny Field’s walk-off single, giving Arizona a 4-3 win. Konner Wade (8 IP, 7 H, 3 R, 1 ER) was solid in a no-decision for Arizona, which got four hits out of Kevin Newman.

Other Highlights

• Chris Anderson (8 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 10 K) and Ben Lively (8 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 11 K) each came up big in one of the Marquee Mound Matchups we highlighted in Weekend Preview, but Anderson won the duel, carrying Jacksonville to a 4-0 win. Through four starts, Anderson is 2-1, 0.87 with 45 strikeouts and five walks in 31 innings.

• Kyle Schwarber and Sam Travis combined for seven hits in support of Joey DeNato (7.1 IP, 8 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 5 K), leading Indiana to a 4-1 win against Jonathon Crawford (6.1 IP, 9 H, 4 ER, 1 BB, 6 K) and Florida. The Hoosiers improved to 7-2, while Florida fell back below .500 at 7-8. Crawford is still seeking his first win of the year.

• Mercer improved to 13-2 with a pair of wins Friday in Terre Haute, 4-3 against South Dakota State and 9-1 against Indiana State. Nick Backlund had two RBIs against the Jackrabbits and three hits against the Sycamores.